Computing devices such as desktop and laptop computers, palm-sized computing devices, set-top box, media players (e.g., a CD or DVD player), and so forth, typically employ a number of electronic components that generate thermal energy in the form of heat. These components include, for example, processors and controllers that may consume varying amounts of power and thereby generate varying amounts of heat when in operation. Because excessive heat can reduce the overall performance and can cause damage to the components as well as cause damage to other components, designers and manufacturers of such computing devices spend a considerable amount of time developing ways to prevent such devices from overheating. As a result, larger computing devices such as desktop computers will typically employ some sort of cooling system that will employ, among other things, fans in order to counteract the large amount of thermal energy generated by various components.
Unfortunately, as computing devices such as laptops become more compact and condensed, and as individual components such as processors become increasingly more powerful and thus, consuming more power and generating more heat, it is becoming more difficult to manage the tremendous amounts of thermal energy being generated by such components. Increasingly, component designers incorporate self-regulation circuitry with the components to self-regulate their performance or the amount of heat produced by the various components. However, the self-regulation may be sub-optimal.